Cory Morse | Mlive.comMlive's Pete Wallner shows a baseball signed by members of the 1957 Milwaukee Braves World Series champs he received from his father.

Our possessions are more than mere objects. Our possessions tell our stories. They evoke memories. They become intertwined with our identities. Over the next few days, MLive will share the stories of possessions cherished by West Michigan residents.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- My father kept a baseball, signed by members of the 1957 Milwaukee Braves World Series champs, in the top drawer of his dresser. How do I know? Because I snooped there when I was about 10. I don’t remember why, other than I snooped a lot when I was 10. But, to me as a big baseball fan, it was quite a find. The signatures included Hall of Famers Henry Aaron, Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews and Red Schoendienst.

The story ended there for years. I mean, I couldn’t just say, “Hey, dad. I was milling around in your dresser and noticed you have a pretty cool ball stuck in a sock in your top drawer.”

But when I was about 18, a simple weekend morning became memorable. I was short on socks as we prepared to do chores outside. As I complained, I walked into my parents’ bedroom, and my father told me to simply grab a pair of his. Without thinking, I opened the drawer and there it was - the bulging sock. Why didn’t I think of that excuse sooner?

Turns out, he got the baseball as a prize at a function through his employer, The Milwaukee Railroad, in the mid-1960s. Over time, it became like the off-color socks that sit in the back of the drawer and are forgotten.

He gave me the ball that day. I removed it from its life in a sock and put it in a case, and even told my two boys the story about it. Of course, that was years ago.